My heart felt heavy as I shut the tailgate on my truck. The weekend was over and we’d all be heading back to reality.
“You all right, Gunner?”
Josh’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m fine. A little sad to see the weekend ending. It’s been fun hanging out like old times.”
Josh nodded and blew out a deep breath. “Things are really going to change in a few months.”
I smiled and hit his back. “Especially for you, dude. You’re getting married in a few weeks, babies on the way this summer. Your world is about to be turned upside down.”
He frowned and snarled his lip. “Gee, thanks for the pep talk there, Gunner.”
“Keeping it real my friend, keeping it real.”
“You both packed up and ready to go?” Jeff asked as he made his way over to us.
“I think so. The next time we want to do a weekend getaway, I vote for somewhere warm, with a place on the beach and comfortable beds,” Josh said as he rubbed his lower back.
“Too much sex on the blow-up?” Jeff asked with a straight face.
Rolling his eyes, Josh gave Jeff a dirty look. “You could probably have sex anywhere, I swear.”
Jeff nodded. “My goal someday is sex on a horse.”
Josh and I both stared at Jeff. Pinching my brows, I asked, “Sex on a horse. With Ari?”
“Well certainly not with the fucking horse, Gunner. Yes, with Ari. What in the hell, dude?”
Tossing my head back, I laughed then punched Jeff on the arm. “Hell, you don’t really know with you, Johnson.”
Josh chuckled as we made our way over to the girls. “Think they had fun?” Josh asked.
“Well I don’t know about you two, but I made sure my wife had a good time. At least when we were alone I did.”
“Jesus, Jeff. Is that all you think about is sex?” Josh asked.
“Yes,” Ari answered as she turned and looked at us. “Ninety-nine percent of the time.”
Jeff pulled Ari to him and kissed her on the lips. “And you love it.”
She rubbed her stomach. “I must if I’m pregnant again with your baby.”
Heather seemed to melt into Josh as he held her close to him. She looked up at Josh then over to Ellie and smiled. “I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t so sure about this trip, but I’ve had a blast. I miss my bed, but it’s been a nice break from reality.”
I motioned with my finger for Ellie. She stood and walked into my arms. Her warm body brought mine to life. Standing on her toes, she kissed me gently then said, “This has been so much fun, but I miss Alex.”
Ari let out a sigh of relief. “I’ve been almost on the verge of tears I miss Luke so much.”
“I can’t wait to see the little guy,” Jeff added.
I looked around at my best friends and felt a peace settle into my chest. I wasn’t sure when the next time we would be able to sneak off like this for a weekend would be, but I made a promise to myself that I would make sure we had small moments like this. Just us, being us.
Ellie turned in my arms and faced everyone else as we stood in a circle. Turning my attention on Josh and Heather, I said, “So, in a few weeks we’re marrying off the last two of the gang.”
Heather’s face lit up as did Josh’s. “I’m ready. More than ready, honestly,” Josh said as he placed his hands over Heather’s swollen belly.
Looking up at Josh, Heather softly said, “I’m counting down the days.”
We stood there in silence. It was almost like no one really wanted to leave, but I knew we were all ready to get home and get settled back into life.
“I guess we should head back,” Jeff said first. “But there is one thing I want to do before we go.”
Ellie looked at her brother and asked, “What’s that?”
With a smile, he looked at each of us, one at a time. “I want us all to stand here and make a promise to each other that someday we’ll return to these campsites with our kids and their kids.”
Ari wiped a tear from her face.
I nodded. “I’m all about that promise, Jeff.”
“Same here, I think that’s a great idea,” Josh said as he leaned down and kissed Heather’s forehead.
We all turned and faced the river. Before I knew it, we stood in a line, our arms all wrapped around the person next to them as we looked out over the scenery.
“What do you think it will be like?” Ellie asked with a wide grin. “I can’t help but wonder how many kids each of us will have and how many kids they’ll have. Will they grow up and move away or stay close by us?”
“I’m going to say, after this, I’m think we’ll stick to the two we’re having,” Heather said with a light sigh.
Everyone laughed.
Ari peeked up to Jeff. “I think two sounds about right for us as well.”
Ellie dropped her head against my shoulder. “Two seems to be the magic number. If we’re blessed with another baby, I won’t argue.”
“Then it’s settled. Someday we’ll be back with the whole gang here at this park,” Jeff said putting his hand out. We each placed our hand over the others as we formed a circle.
“To the promise,” Ari said with a wide grin.
Five voices all responded at once.
“To the promise.”
“I’m so excited I could scream.”
I chuckled and took Ellie’s hand. “So am I, sweetheart. We’ve been waiting a long time for this to happen.”
“We sure have. I can’t believe we were able to get the same campsites. It was smart of Jeff to call up last year and reserve all of them. And we got them all in that same area. I can’t wait to see the kids playing.”
Reaching for her hand, I brought it up and kissed the back of it. My heart was filled with an unbelievable happiness. “It’s going to be a great weekend.”
I pulled into the same campsite we had camped at over twenty years ago. “It looks the same.”
Ellie chuckled. “Do you remember the mountain lion?”
“Yes, and don’t remind Josh. It took that bastard fifteen years before he finally stopped telling that story.”
“Trust me, I won’t have to remind him … he already mentioned to it Heather the other day. She told me.”
Rolling my eyes, I got out of the truck. “Great.”
We both stood and looked at the campsite and then glanced back to the fifth-wheel we had bought a few years back. “I’m glad we wised up a few years back and gave up tent camping.”
Ellie nodded in agreement. “You know, Anissa’s going to want to spend the night with us.”
That warm feeling settled in my body like a soft blanket. “And that’s totally fine with me.”
Laughing, Ellie shook her head. “That little girl has you wrapped around her finger. Lauren told me about the pony.”
“She wanted it!”
With her hands on her hips, Ellie tilted her head and gave me that look. The one where she was right and I was wrong, and she wanted me to admit it.
“Fine, maybe I shouldn’t have bought it without talking to Colt and Lauren first, but Hunter, Bayli, and Joshua all have a horse. Why couldn’t Anissa?”
“You make a good point on that, but next time, save something like that for Christmas or her birthday. And for goodness sakes, talk to the kids first, Gunner.”
I took Ellie’s hand in mine. “Duly noted. Looks like Jeff and Ari are over there; let’s head on over.”
“You don’t want to set up the RV?”
“Nah, we’ll do it in a minute.”
As we made our way over to Jeff and Ari’s RV, Ari came walking out with her arms filled with bags of chips.
“Need help?” Ellie asked as she walked up.
“Yes! Thanks! It’s about time y’all got here. Everyone is here and in the spot.”
“The spot?” I asked.
Ellie looked up at me. “Yes, it’s the place Ari, Heather, and I spent those last few hours while you guys were packing up.”
“Ah,” I said nodding my head. Taking a few bags from Ari and Ellie, we started walking down to the river.
“Everyone is here you said?” Ellie asked Ari.
“Yes, and I’m pretty sure each of our kids loaded our grandchildren up with sugar. They are all over the damn place.”
Ellie and I chuckled. As we got closer, my eyes scanned the area and took it all in.
“Good lord, look at them all,” Ellie said with a giggle.
Ari came to a stop. “Look who finally showed up.”
Each of our friends turned and greeted us warmly. Brad and Amanda held a sleeping Mason in their arms. “Hey, y’all. About time you got here!” Amanda said with a smile.
Jeff stood and took the bags of chips from Ellie and Ari and tossed them onto the portable table that was set up with snacks and drinks.
He reached out and shook my hand. “Gunner, you guys need help with the RV?”
“Nah, damn thing practically sets itself up.”
Josh stood up next to Jeff and reached for my hand. “Hey, Josh. Heather. Y’all get everything set up?”
Josh and Heather had bought their RV only a few weeks back and this was the first time they had used it. “The hardest part about it was driving with that bitch on my bumper. Give me a trailer with ten horses in it and I’m fine, but that damn thing nearly wrecked us four times.”
Heather rolled her eyes. “It did not. He did great with it and you’re right, it practically sets itself up.”
Scott stood next and shook my hand. “Gunner, long time no see.”
I chuckled and hit him on the back. “I saw you yesterday. And no, I still don’t want to sell you that stud so don’t ask.”
Holding up his hands in surrender, Scott laughed. “I wasn’t going to ask. But if you change your mind, I’m willing to offer a good price.”
Jessie stood and kissed Ellie on the cheek then gave me a hug. “Did y’all see Anissa lost another tooth?”
Ellie gasped. “She did! Oh, that sweet baby girl.”
Ari pulled out two more chairs. “Here, have a seat. This is the prime location to watch the action.”
Ellie and I sat next to Josh and Heather. The grandkids were running everywhere. I couldn’t help but notice how all of our kids were gathered around a few blankets closer to the river, talking, laughing, and tossing back a few beers. Every now and then you would hear one of them shout out to the kids.
“Trey, get off Mireya.”
“Charlotte, don’t put mud down Anissa’s swimsuit.”
Tears threatened to spill from my eyes as I watched the kids we had raised raising their own little ones. “Look at them. It’s like looking in a mirror,” I said.
Ellie reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Do you remember how we stood here and worried that we would drift apart? Look at this. Not only did we not drift apart, but our kids all ended up with each other. Of course, a couple added to the family.”
Laughter filled the air until a silence settled among us. I turned and looked at each one of my best friends. They were more than friends. They were my family. Not all of them stood in this spot and made that promise all those years ago, but when we told them about it, they vowed to hold the promise as well. And we did. As crazy as it was to get everyone’s schedules to work, we made it happen. My heart felt full. I was positive nothing would ever top this day.
I stood and opened up the ice chest and grabbed two drinks, a beer for me and a bottled sweet tea for Ellie. Handing her the tea, I cleared my throat. Everyone turned their attention on me.
Trying to talk, my voice cracked, causing me to pause for a moment and regroup. I was overcome with emotion and I knew the rest of the gang was as well. “We did it. We all went through times of happiness, sadness, anger, and fear, but son-of-a-bitch, we did it. There isn’t a day that doesn’t go by where I don’t lay my head down at night and thank God for each of you. You’re more than friends, you’re family.”
I turned and looked down at the river. Alex looked up at us and lifted her hand and waved. That prompted each of our kids to do the same.
There was no doubting how blessed we were.
I lost the battle and a single tear trickled down my face.
Ellie stood next to me and wrapped her arm around my waist. It didn’t take long for everyone else to stand. We all stood there, arms wrapped around each other, like we did all those years ago when we looked out over the same view and dreamed about our future.
Looking up at me, Ellie’s blue eyes shined with happiness. I was instantly swept into a memory from so many years ago. A young, beautiful, brown-haired, blue-eyed girl sitting next to me on my sofa watching Cars. I knew that day she would own my heart.
“This is what we wanted all those years ago when we made that promise. Happy kids, happy grandkids, and one hell of a happy and blessed life.”
My voice cracked as I looked back out at our family. “This sight before us … this is it. All we wanted right before our eyes.”
“To the promise,” Jeff softly said.
We all repeated at once, “To the promise.”
It’s never the end … only the beginning of the next story.